White-winged wood ducks brought to Guwahati zoo

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The white-winged wood duck (deo haah), which is the State Bird of Assam, is making a homecoming of sorts.

According Ashwini Kumar, DFO of the Assam State Zoo-cum-Botanical Garden, two captive-bred pairs of the highly endangered species arrived at the zoo here on Sunday from the Zoo Zlin at Prague in the Czech Republic.

The birds will be specially housed in the zoo, Kumar said.

The DFO informed that only 800 to 1,000 white winged wood ducks survive globally now, out of which around 450 birds are believed to be spread across India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. In Assam, the species is found in the Nameri National Park, the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and the recently-upgraded Dehing Patkai National Park. A small population is also believed to be present at the Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh, Kumar informed.

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